Netherlands Approves Partial Ban on Face Coverings

Last 12 months, The Times examined efforts to limit the carrying of face masking clothes. Here is a version of that breakdown.

Canada

In October, the French-speaking Canadian province of Quebec made it against the law to put on a face-covering garment in public, a transfer that critics derided as discriminatory towards Muslim ladies.

The legislation was the primary of its sort in North America. It barred people with face coverings from receiving public companies, reminiscent of driving a bus, or from working in authorities jobs, reminiscent of a health care provider or trainer. They additionally can’t obtain publicly funded well being care whereas masking their faces.

Quebec’s minister of justice, Stéphanie Vallée, stated the legislation fostered social cohesion. Ihsaan Gardee, the chief director of the National Council of Canadian Muslims, referred to as it “an unnecessary law with a made-up solution to an invented problem.”

Austria

Austria’s ban on carrying full-face coverings in public — together with in universities, on public transportation and in courthouses — additionally took impact final October. Though geared toward ladies carrying burqas or niqabs, the legislation applies to everybody, with exceptions for artists and other people carrying scarves in chilly climate. Violators may be fined 150 euros, or about $175.

The measure was a part of a legislative bundle handed earlier than Austria’s nationwide election final 12 months, which was dominated by debate over immigration. The election saw the far-right Freedom Party enter into government underneath a brand new conservative chancellor, Sebastian Kurz. In the primary six months after the legislation was enacted, the police reported 30 violations, only four of which involved Muslim women, Austrian information media reported.

France

In 2011, France grew to become the first country in Western Europe to ban face-covering clothes just like the burqa or niqab in public, though the legislation didn’t explicitly point out Islam. The transfer made it unlawful to cowl one’s face in public locations, together with streets and shops, as a safety measure. Those who break the legislation face fines of as much as 150 euros.